J. Alexander Kueng sentenced to 3.5 years in prison in George Floyd case

On Friday, the former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s back while another officer kneeled on his neck was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
In October, J. Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. The Associated Press reports that, in exchange, a charge of aiding and abetting murder was dropped. Floyd’s civil rights were violated by him and he is already serving a federal sentence for it. The former officer will serve the two sentences at the same time.
Via video link, Kueng appeared in court from a federal prison in Ohio. Given the opportunity, he declined to address the court.
None of Floyd’s family members gave a victim impact statement. “In a statement before the hearing, attorney Ben Crump said that Kueng’s sentence ‘delivers yet another piece of justice for the Floyd family,'” Crump said.
“The family faces yet another holiday season without George,” he said. “We hope that moments like these continue to bring them a measure of peace, knowing that George’s death was not in vain.”
Derek Chauvin, a former officer, kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes while Floyd said he couldn’t breathe. Floyd went limp and eventually died on May 25, 2020. The killing of Floyd, captured on video by a bystander, sparked global outrage and a reckoning on racial injustice.
Whilst restraining Floyd, Kueng knelt on his back. Officer Thomas Lane held Floyd’s legs while Tou Thao, another former officer, prevented bystanders from intervening. All of the officers were fired and now face state and federal charges.
As part of his plea agreement, Kueng admitted that he held Floyd’s torso and knew from his training and experience that restraining a handcuffed person in such a position created a significant risk.
The conviction of him brings the cases against all four of the former officers one step closer to resolution, though the state case against Thao remains open.
After being convicted of murder and manslaughter charges last year, Chauvin is serving a 22-and-a-half-year sentence. Lane is serving a two-and-a-half-year federal sentence in a Colorado prison. He is serving a three-year state sentence at the same time.